LAKELAND - For some Lakeland municipalities, hiring enough lifeguards to work at aquatic facilities can be challenging.
Sarah Jackson, aquatic services supervisor for Lac La Biche County, says the municipality struggles with staffing daytime hours as most of the lifeguarding staff at the Portage Pool are high school students. Staffing in the aquatics industry, she added, is an issue across Canada.
“It is a challenge to recruit staff as aquatics is not currently an area that many youth are interested in, and finding qualified leadership staff willing to relocate poses its own set of challenges,” Jackson told Lakeland This Week.
While many people think of lifeguards as young students, the reality is that the County’s lifeguarding teams include individuals of many different ages, backgrounds, and life experiences.
“Lifeguards and swim instructors come from all walks of life, reflecting the diversity of our community,” she said.
Lac La Biche County often hires staff during the fall and spring. Jackson explained this allows for replacement of staff that leave for post-secondary education in the fall, and provides time to train additional staff for summer, which is the busiest season.
Most of the County’s lifeguards are individuals that have taken training with the municipality, or who hear about the positions through recruitment or word of mouth.
According to Jackson, there are four courses needed to become a lifeguard, as well as one additional course for the Swim Instructor certification. The courses are Bronze Medallion, Bronze Cross, Intermediate First Aid, and National Lifeguard.
“Youth can begin this journey as young as 13 years old. Some municipal facilities, including Portage Pool, will hire individuals with their Bronze Cross and Intermediate First Aid at age 14 as an assistant lifeguard,” she stated.
Rob Simons, the Aquatic Centre manager for the Town of St. Paul, said unlike other jurisdictions, the municipality has not had any issues concerning hiring enough lifeguards. However, getting older individuals on staff has been a struggle.
Most of the lifeguarding staff with the Town of St. Paul are high school students.
“We typically hire a few individuals in the fall around October, a couple more around Christmas and then a couple more before the summer,” he said. “Due to most of our staff being high school students, we tend to have a high turnover when they graduate from Grade 12 and leave for other schooling.”
